Here cons the bride: Mum of two fiddled £500,000 from her work to fund perfect life

LIVING IT UP: Darwen blew company cash on luxuries [MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS SYNDICATION]

Darwen blew the cash on luxury holidays and cars and planned a lavish wedding.

The mum of two put down a £48,000 deposit on a house and went to charity balls wearing designer gear and jewellery.

But, unknown to partner Harrison James, his lover was propping up their dream life by playing online betting games and stealing from work to fund her habit.

Despite earning just £15,000 a year at a motor accident claims firm, Darwen banked £823,000 over three years, including £300,000 from betting sprees.

She spent £5,000 on cosmetic surgery and £10,000 on a new car, plus luxury breaks in Mallorca, Florida and several cruises.

Darwen, 26, also squandered piles of cash on a trip to Wembley, sports dinners and a concert where she got herself pictured with pop star Ronan Keating, 37.

The stolen cash was the equivalent of 12 workers’ wages at family-run Action 365, which had to sack staff to cover the losses.

“What you did has had an almost devastating effect on this company, members of the company, staff, people who trusted you”

Judge Maurice Greene told Darwen

Darwen, of Leigh, Lancs, burst into tears as she was jailed for three years yesterday after admitting fraud.

Her wedding to Harrison, 26, has been cancelled but the couple are still together.

The court heard Darwen secretly paid £508,120 from company funds into her account by creating false invoices.

She even made a transfer on maternity leave when she came in to work for a “keep in touch day”.

Her massive con was rumbled in last December during a company audit.

Her barrister Edmund Haygarth told Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court: “This is one of these cases where someone is relieved that they were caught and rather regret they hadn’t been caught earlier.”

Passing sentence, Judge Maurice Greene told Darwen: “What you did has had an almost devastating effect on this company, members of the company, staff, people who trusted you.”

Afterwards a shocked neighbour of Darwen said: “All we saw was a woman wanting to play the perfect middle-class wife. She fooled us all.”